Machine for washing serving trays



April 14, 1925. 1,533,150

c. J. ULRICH ET AL MACHINE FbR WASHING SERVING TRAYS Filed June 13, 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet l Irzznfohs Car/J (//r/ch April 14.1925. 1,533,150

, c. J. ULRICH ET AL "ACKINE FOR WASHING SERVING TRAYS Filed June 13. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patent-.1 A....14, 1925. 1,533,150 UNITED-STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CARL J'. ULRICH, OF LAKE CRYSTAL, AND WYMAN A. MILLER, OF 'MIN'NEAPOLIS,

MINNESOTA.

MACHINE FOR WASHING SERVING TRAYS.

Application filed June 13, 1921. SerialNo. 477,103.

To all-whom it may concern. the axis thereof and arranged to discharge Be it known that we, CARL J. ULRICH, a into a drain pipe 14 leading from the botcitizen of the United States, residing at tom of the drum 5. A normally closed Lake Crystal, in the county of Blue Earth valve 15 is interposed in the drain pipe 14 and State of Minnesota, and WYMAN A. between the drum 5 and overflow pipe 13. 60 ILLER, a citizen of the United States, resid- For conveying the trays from the reing at Minneapolis, in the county of Henceiving shelf 9 through the water Z and nepin and State of Minnesota, have invented onto the deflecting board 12, there is pro-. certain new and useful Improvements in vided a'reel mounted on a horizontal shaft 1 Machines for Washing Serving Trays; and 16, the ends of which extend through the 65 we do hereby declare the following to be a heads of the drum 5 at the axis thereof, and full, clear, and exact description of the injournaled in bearings 17 on the frame 7. vention, such as will enable others skilled in The hub 18 of the reel is keyed to the shaft the art to which it appertains to make and 16 close to the right-hand head of the drum use the same. 5, and has rigidly secured thereto, a plu- 7 Our invention has for its object to provide rality of radial arms 19, the outer end poran extremely simple and highly eflicient mations of which are bent horizontally toward chine for washing serving trays used in the left-hand head of the drum 5 parallel restaurants, cafeterias, and the like, and to to the shaft 16 and afford circumferentially this end, it consists of the novel devices and spaced arm extensions 20. To each arm ex- 75 combination of devices hereinafter described tension is rigidly secured a radially and and defined in the claims. outwardly extended U-shaped tray-engaging In the accompanying drawing which illusextension 21.

'trates the invention, like characters indicate To guide the trays 10 from the receiving like parts throughout the several views. shelf 9 through the water Z and onto the 80 Referring to the drawings deflecting board 12, there are provided con- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the improved centric radially spaced inner and outer machine; 1 guide rails 22 and 23, respectively, arranged Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the same with in laterally spaced pairs within the drum 5.

some parts broken. away and sectioned; The outer guide rails 23 are substantially 85 Fig. 3 1s a view principally in vertical semi-circular and radially spaced above the section, taken substantially on the line 33 bottom of the drum 5 and extend from the of Fig. 2; and inner edge of the receiving shelf 9 downward Fig. 4 is a. view partly in plan and partly into the water and 'outthereof at the back v in section, taken on the line 44 of Fig. 1. of the drum 5, and are rigidly secured to the no The numeral 5 indicates a cylindrical back of the drum 5, materially above the water-containing'drum or receptacle having axis thereof, by rivets or otherwise. The a horizontally disposed axis and which drum inner guide rails 22 are considerably more is entirely closed, except for a single openthan semi-circular and the front end poring 6, in the front and above the axis theretions thereof, above the axis of the drum 5, 95 0f. This drum 5 is supported in a skeleton extend tangentially to the rear edge of the frame 7 having a shelf 8 located on the under delivery shelf 11 and are attached thereto. side of said drum. 7 Supported on the frame By reference to Fig. 3, it will be noted that 7 at the lower edge of the opening 6, is a the tangential portions of the inner guide receiving shelf 9 adapted to support nested rails 22 incline inward materially in respect 10" soiled trays 10, as shown in Fig. 3. Secured the receiving shelf 9 to support the trays 10 to the drum 5, above the shelf 9, is a. delivery on the reel extension 21, as indicated in Fig. shelf 11 on which the washed trays 10 are 3. The curvature of the rear end ortions automatically stacked, as will presently apof the inner guide rails 22 above t e outer pear. Located above the. shelf 11, at the guides rails 23 is materially flattened and 105 inner edge thereof, .and extending slightly the ends of said outer guide rails 23 are atinto the drum 5, is a deflecting board 12. tached to the inner edge portion of the de An overflow pipe 13 taps the drum 5 at fleeting board 12' at the upper face thereof. the back thereof and maintains a predeter The arm extensions 20 are arranged to travel mined level of water Z in said drum below quite'close to, and over, the inner faces of The reel is the inner pair of guide rails 22 and the trayengaging extensions 21 extend between the pairs of guide rails 22 and 23, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4.

Vater is supplied for rinsing the trays 10 and maintaining the waterilevel in the drum 5 by means of a rinsing device, which, as shown, comprises a' pair of horizontally extended and horizontally spaced nozzle tubes 24 which extend through the left-hand head of the drum 5 and substantially completely across the druin, at the rear thereof, with the pairs of guide rails 22 and 23 extending therebetween. *In the opposing faces of the nozzle tubes 24' are formed a multiplicity of holes 25 arranged to discharge intersecting jets of water between said guide 'rails, and through which jets of water, the trays must pass during their travel from the water Z to the delivery shelf 11, as best shown in Fig. 3. \Vater is supplied to the nozzles 24 through a water supply pipe 26, having interposed therein, a gas water heater 27, the coil 28 of which forms a portion of said Water supply pipe.

The reel is driven in arrow marked thereon in Fig. 3, by an electric motor 29, mounted on the shelf 8, and on the'armatured shaft of which is secured a relatively small grooved pulley 3O aligned with a relatively large grooved pulley 31, over which two pulleys runs a belt 32. The pulley 31 is loosely journaled on a bearing 33 on the shelf 8 and has rigidly secured thereto, on its outer face, a relatively small grooved'pulley 34aligned with a relatively large grooved pulley 35 keyed to the reel shaft-16, and over which two pulleys, 34 and 35, runs a belt 36.

The operation of the tray washing machine may be briefly described as follows: driven at the desired speed from the rotation of the reel, the spraying device is in constant action and drains into the drum 5 and thereby of water- Z in which and in which water or washing powder.

the motor 29 and during maintains the supply the trays are washed may be placed, soap The constantly open drain 13 maintains a predetermined water level in the drum 5 and when it is desirable to drain the water from the drum 5, the valve 15 may be opened to allow the water therein to flow through the drain-pipe 14. The trays 10 are placed, by the attendant, on the receiving shelf 9 withtheir open sides up, and nested, as indicated in Fig.3. These soiled trays are placed, by the attendant, one on each of the reel extensions 21, as the same are rotated past the receiving shelf 9, and leaned against the tangential portions of the inner guide rails 22 with their open sides turned toward the axis of the reel, as indicated in Fig. 3. The rotation of the reel permits the trays to enter the water Z, between the upper and the direction of the,

lower guide rails 22 and 23, under their own weight. The trays are then engaged by the next following reel extension 21 and move through the water Z on the outer guide rails 23, lifted out of the water and carried through the rinsing water which sprays hot water on both sides of the trays. The reel extensions 21 hold the trays 1O edgewise spaced, one in advance of the other, so that all parts thereof come in contact with the water Z and the rinsing water. During the travel of the trays through the rinsing water, the upper edges thereof are directed inward, toward the axis of the drum 5, by the outer guide rails 23 and said trays tipped inward onto the inner guide rails 22, which turns their open sides downward so that all water will drain from the trays. As the trays are elevated by the reel on the inner guide rails 22, the same are carried thereby, onto the deflecting board 12a sufiicient distance to permlt the reel extensions 21 to pass the same and leave the trays where they will be successively engaged by the next following trays and automatically moved onto the delivery shelf 11 in inverted and nested positions where they may. be removed by the attendant. Preferably, as shown, the drain pipe 14 is covered with a screen.

The above described invention is extremely simple in its action and requires only a single attendant to feed soiled trays thereto and remove the same therefrom, after having been thoroughly washed and rinsed. The rinsing water may be heated to a temperature which will thoroughly scald the trays and thereby sterilize the same, and as all of the water is drained from the trays, after passing the rinsing device,

they will dry without wiping. In place of the gas heater shown in the drawings, the water may be heated in any other suitable manner.

What we claim is I 1. The combination with a water-contain ing receptacle, of inner and outer laterally spaced pairs of tray guides in the receptacle' and a reel working at one side of the guides and having means working between the inner pair of guides, said means being arranged to move successive trays on the outer pair of guides through the water and thereabove, said inner and outer guides being arranged to cause the traysto move under the action of gravity from the outer pair of guides onto the inner pair of guides into dralning position.

2. The combination with a water-containing receptacle, of inner and outer tray guides in the receptacle, a reel having radial arms working at one side of the guides, the outer end portions of saidarms-being extended laterally and arranged to travel within the inner guides,

and means on the tally inward of the inner laterally extended end portions of the arms working between the inner guides and arranged to move successive trays on the outer guides through the water and thereabove into draining position on the inner guides.

3. The combination with a water-containing receptacle, of innerand outer laterally spaced pairs of guides in the receptacle ar- "ranged to direct trays through the Water, and areel having radial arms working at one side of the pairs of guides, the outer ends of said arms being extended horizonpair of guides and provided with tray engaging extension,

Working between the inner pair of guides.

.direct trays through the 4. The combination with a Water-containing receptacle, of concentric laterally spaced pairs of guides in the receptacle arranged to Water, and a revoluble reel having radial arms working at one side of the pairs of guides, the outer ends of said arms being extended horizontallyinward of the inner pair of guides and provided with U-shaped tray-engaging extensions Working between theinner pair Of guides.

In testimony whereof we afiix our signatures.

CARI J. ULRICH. WYMAN A. MILLER. 

